Gawker Attorneys Slam Hogan Over Sex Talk

(CN) – Attorneys for Gawker hammered Hulk Hogan about what they called inconsistencies in how he shares his personal life with others as the battle royale between the gossip website and former wrestler entered the second day. From media appearances on radio to TV, Gawker attorney Michael Sullivan played snippets of Hogan – whose real name is Terry Bollea – talking about his sex life, including the size of his penis. Bollea filed a lawsuit against Gawker in 2012 for publishing portions of a sex tape between the wrestler and Heather Cole, the former wife of shock jock and Bollea’s best friend Bubba “the Love Sponge” Clem. He is seeking $100 million in damages for invasion of privacy. Gawker claims Bollea’s public comments regarding his sexual exploits made the sex tape newsworthy. Sullivan jumped from Bollea’s admission in his autobiography to having an affair with a model to a scene from reality show “Hogan Knows Best” where he sits on the toilet talking on the phone. At one point, Sullivan played a TMZ interview where the host questions Bollea about the rumor of a sex tape with him involving a brunette. “There were several brunettes,” Bollea quipped to the host. Later, Sullivan played interviews from the days after Gawker’s publication of the sex tape. Bollea talks openly about the encounter, even after a former publicist advised him not to. When asked why he didn’t avoid the subject, Bollea responded, “I was on an entertainment show and I had to be an entertainer so I just kept going.” The exchanges turned contentious at points as Bollea tried to explain he was in the Hulk Hogan character when he made comments about his sex life. When Sullivan played a clip from shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge’s radio show where Bollea alludes to having a 10-inch penis, the former wrestler became animated. “Well, it’s not mine, because mine isn’t that size, but we were discussing the length of Hulk Hogan’s [penis]” he said. “No seriously, I do not have a 10-inch penis.” When pressed further why he would talk about his penis, Bollea snapped back: “We’ve talked about Hulk Hogan several times and I need to make you understand this, that Hulk Hogan gave up his privacy the moment he walked out his front door … I don’t know how much clearer I can make that to you.” Sullivan’s questioning plodded along during the morning cross-examination as Bollea became confused over the chronology of the interviews played by the attorney. “I’m not good with dates and names,” he said, adding later, “I call people ‘brother’ because I can’t remember names well.” Toward the end of questioning, Sullivan played a clip of radio personality Howard Stern talking to Bollea’s daughter about her virginity before asking if that was an invasion of privacy. Right before his attorneys objected, Bollea looked like he might body slam someone.Photo credit: Boyzell Hosey of the Tampa Bay Times (pool photograph).